Hydrogen and CNG stations.....

[ajgiorgi]

Do you think whoever will add Hydrogen to CNG stations already in existence or will new Hydrogen stations be made and then CNG dispensers added? Wondering since the FCX will be coming out and there are some planned stations in the bay area on the alt fuels website.

AAAnnd Begin..............

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: Hydrogen and CNG stations.....

Do you think whoever will add Hydrogen to CNG stations already in existence or will new Hydrogen stations be made and then CNG dispensers added? Wondering since the FCX will be coming out and there are some planned stations in the bay area on the alt fuels website.

AAAnnd Begin..............

I keep seeing the misconception that CNG and Hydrogen stations have a lot in common. A CNG station requires a pipeline, a compressor and a dispenser. A Hydrogen station requires a hydrogen generator, a compressor and a dispenser. The hydrogen generation is the key part here. There are only a few areas in the US that have a significant Hydrogen pipeline in place, and the h2 comnpressors have to be completely different than those used for CNG. They have to use different metalurgy, and run at a considerably higher pressure.

I don't see how CNG is a 'stepping stone' to hydrogen... I don't think you usually need much in the way of stepping stones to step backwards...

[Larryect]

Re: Hydrogen and CNG stations.....

Could be wrong, but: My understanding is that the easiest (cheapest) way to currently create H2 is to strip it from NG. Seems this would lend itself to putting them where we already have CNG.

[dovh49]

Re: Hydrogen and CNG stations.....

That's what I heard too about using NG to make H2...don't understand why you would do all that converting just to make H2...why not just make more fuel efficient CNG cars?

[CraziFuzzy]

Re: Hydrogen and CNG stations.....

Could be wrong, but: My understanding is that the easiest (cheapest) way to currently create H2 is to strip it from NG. Seems this would lend itself to putting them where we already have CNG.

SMR's are not a totally simple or cheap device, the catalysts are very expensive, and they require temperature about 1200F in the reformer to facilitate the change. Also, you can expect to get about 3 btu's worth of H2 for every 5-6 btu's of natural gas put in.

[Larryect]

Re: Hydrogen and CNG stations.....

SMR's are not a totally simple or cheap device, the catalysts are very expensive, and they require temperature about 1200F in the reformer to facilitate the change. Also, you can expect to get about 3 btu's worth of H2 for every 5-6 btu's of natural gas put in.

Didn't say it was a good idea....